[discuss] Internet governance recommended reading

Fri Jan 10 08:59:16 UTC 2014

Hi Brian, Jorge,
At 17:47 09-01-2014, Brian E Carpenter wrote:
>Due to some issues with our Uni's e-book access, I have only seen some
>of the text so far.
>
>Beware of inaccuracies (as in her previous book, which misquoted me,
>for example). One I found so far is this (Chapter 3 ,p. 70):

I flipped through some extracts of the book.  There are some 
inaccuracies.  It's not unusual to see that in material about the 
internet.  The author did not fall for the usual mistake about the layers [1].

The book mentions that:

    As critical resources necessary for Internet connectivity and 
use, the management
    of Internet address space and domain name space are central tasks 
to Internet
    governance.

The book identifies security as a critical issue and mentions that 
the coordination of information and responses to attacks is a 
critical Internet governance concern.  There is a mention that the 
IESG is ultimately responsible for presenting Internet draft 
standards to the IAB for ratification as formal standards [2].  There 
is a mention of CNLP and TUBA. :-)  It is mentioned that 
participation [in standards setting] requires a great degree of 
technical knowledge, time, funding and awareness.  I looked into OPES 
some time back.  My quick reaction would be that it was not 
significant as a reading of the technical literature would imply.

I'll highlight the comment in the book about "there are countless 
organizations setting countless standards".  One of the core 
questions about public importance (mentioned in the book) is by what 
procedures are the decision weighed.  The book makes a good point 
about "what is being done, how it is being done and who is doing 
it".  My reading of the chapter is that it did not fall for the 
illusion of participation.

There is some discussion about the economics of IPv6.  There is a 
report (I don't remember the reference) which is at odds with what is 
written in the book.  It is difficult to tell whether there was a 
market failure or whether there was an assumption that what worked 
before would still be applicable.  There is a quote about IPv6 "is 
really important to our kids".

Some of the premises are based on well-publicized opinions instead of 
factual information.  Overall, it is difficult to rate the book.  It 
is likely what the average person would read and consider as the truth.

Regards,
S. Moonesamy

1. I have seen OSI being used as the reference in technical discussions.
2. It is inaccurate.  